Re: is 120ppm salt consider high?

I'm not a chemist but the I think the sodium present in softened water is not actually salt (sodium chloride) but a variation, since softeners exchange sodium for calcium and magnesium in the hard water by an exchange of ions (imbalance of electrons). Having said that, I have no clue what the actual difference is or the effect on us or plants. The amount of sodium introduced into the water is directly proportional to the hardness of the raw water, so I think you need to do some tests and perhaps dial your softener down to match your raw water.

Many softener installations, including ours, bypass the outside taps as well as the kitchen cold. However, the missus will often water the plants from the laundry sink with no apparent ill effects.

Re: is 120ppm salt consider high?

Being on city water you could visit their office and I'm sure they have a complete list of what is in the water they are sending to you and probably some suggestions as to what you are experiencing. They handle a lot of questions and are tightly regulated. They might even test a sample for you.

Re: is 120ppm salt consider high?

Your outdoor faucets or any sprinkler system should be on a separate pipe from the softened water. If you continue to have an issue switch to potassium (more expensive). Is your water very hard to begin with? If it is not make sure you are using the right setting for regeneration to avoid putting excessive sodium into the softened water. Also make sure you are not wasting salt (and water) by regenerating too frequently for your usage (solved by demand softeners or proper calculations based on your usage data).